Kaipen ( lo, ໄຄແຜ່ນ, khai phaen, ) is a Laotian snack made of fresh water green algae, garlic,

vegetable Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems, ...

s, and

sesame seed Sesame ( or ; ''Sesamum indicum'') is a flowering plant in the genus '' Sesamum'', also called benne. Numerous wild relatives occur in Africa and a smaller number in India. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cu ...

s. ''Kaipen'' is produced in northern Laos and is especially popular in the city of Luang Prabang. During the dry winter months (November to April), when the river level is at its lowest, the green algae called ''kai'' is gathered from the river bottom. It is washed and pounded thoroughly for maybe a couple of hours, generally in fresh water outside of the river and then set into cubes. A boiled, flavoured liquid including water, green and black olives and tamarind is then poured over it. Each cube is flattened on a plastic sheet and then placed on a flat reed mat. There, sesame seeds, and optionally dried sliced garlic, tomato and onion slices are sprinkled over it. The reed mats are then placed outside on a wood framed network to dry/cook in the sun for at least 7 hours. The finished product resembles a large sheet of Japanese ''

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from species of the red algae genus '' Pyropia'', including ''P. yezonesis'' and '' P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or ...

''. The Kaipen sheets are packed into plastic bags for resale. ''Kaipen'' is rich in

vitamins A vitamin is an organic molecule (or a set of molecules closely related chemically, i.e. vitamers) that is an essential micronutrient that an organism needs in small quantities for the proper functioning of its metabolism. Essential nutrien ...

and minerals and tastes similar to ''nori'' but is slightly more sweet, bitter, and aromatic. ''Kai'' can be eaten by itself or used to flavour other foods. Flash-frying is the preferred method of preparation, after which it can be eaten like a

potato chip A potato chip (North American English; often just chip) or crisp (British and Irish English) is a thin slice of potato that has been either deep fried, baked, or air fried until crunchy. They are commonly served as a snack, side dish, or ap ...

. A small number of people in Laos eat ''kaipen'' without cooking, although the safety of doing so could be questioned as it is a raw food and it does not taste anything like as good as quickly fried Kaipen, which is delightfully crispy. In 2002, some markets in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

began to sell ''kaipen''. The algae is sometimes identified as ''

Cladophora ''Cladophora'' is a genus of reticulated filamentous Ulvophyceae (green algae). The genus ''Cladophora'' contains many species that are very hard to tell apart and classify, mainly because of the great variation in their appearances, which is a ...

'' sp. or '' Dichotomosiphon tuberosus''.

References

Snack foods Edible seaweeds Lao cuisine {{Laos-cuisine-stub